My "F" Story: Part 1, The Story

Be warned, this one is going to be a little wordy...

We all know law school is competitive, and grades are not just letters, but bloody student gladiatorial events.  This post is about them.  And what happens when they go bad.

I received my first semester grades, and they weren't good, but weren't horrific either.  They did, immediately, close a ton of doors for me.  In fact, they slammed shut in my face.  I met with someone in career development, and she reviewed my resume, and gave me a serious talk and plan on how to improve.  Two things stood out: Decide why you are here, and pick up your grades.

Second semester I worked a lot harder, and took school a lot more seriously.  I really treated it like a 9-5 (or 7-3), joined study groups, and got back in the gym.  This was an amazing experience, which I blogged for UB about.  For finals, I studied religiously with one particular study partner, whom I call "Law School Buddy."  We worked through hypos, did practice problems, and generally encouraged each other.  I was feeling really really good about myself when finals actually got underway.

I took my finals, and felt confident that I did better, but of course it is law school, you never can truly feel great about a final.  School ended, I started my internship, and took a brief vacation to my parents house. While there one night, on a whim I decided to check my grades.  My overall semester GPA was a 1.3.

What
The
$#%^

When my heart started beating again, I wincingly opened the detailed report.  I had two courses with grades, one read "F."  Then my mom yelled for dinner.  I closed the browser and headed downstairs, trying to put it out of my mind, since I had nothing except for a change of clothes and my computer with me.

On arriving back in Baltimore, I went through my paperwork.  The class I had the F in was my Introduction to Advocacy class, where you write briefs, do research reports, and complete oral arguments. I had all my work, so I tallied up my grades, and was clearly passing.  I went on Facebook, contacted Moot Court Teammate (a good friend, so I can generally trust her to be honest about things like grades).

Me: Hey
Moot Court Teammate: Hey, I saw your message, what's up?
Me: Not much, how is summer?
MCT: Good, did you survive the ITA B.S.?
Me: Uh, what do you mean?
MCT: The curve screwed a lot of people over.
Me: Like, over 20 points lower?
MCT: Yeah, pretty much.
Me: I have to go throw up.
MCT: I saw Classmate in court today.

Oh crap, I thought, this is really happening.  ITA at UB is a terrible, terrible program.  The idea behind it is awful, and the implementation is ever worse, but that is beside the point.  I read the handbook, and of course ITA isn't listed (all the first year required courses have different penalties for failing).  I email my professor, and randomly the Director of Academic Support.  Email to professor is professional, email to DoAS is professional, but I also mention my shock, horror, and sense of doom.

Well, DoAS kicked major behind on this, and got back to me the next day.  She informed me that I had not handed in my final paper.  You know, the 30 PAGE BRIEF WORTH 40% of the final grade.  This shocked me.  I stood in line for (no joke) an hour and fifteen minutes to hand that sucker in, have my name checked off a list, my student ID verified, and make sure my brief was correctly packaged for anonymous grading.  I told DoAS that I had it in my hand, with an official UB grade sheet.  DoAS called my professor, who verified my grade.

Needless to say, my only emotion was elation.  But this is just the story, the facts, the what happened.  Enjoy it for what it is, because in my next post or two, I am going to try to do some hard, honest writing about grades, and how they really make you feel.  I am generally a pretty unflappable guy, I famously directed traffic at an amusement park accident while the "certified nurse" had a panic attack.  But let me tell you... an F in law school... man...